Wagner signals SOS in San Diego sweep

SAN DIEGO -- Few players feel the sting of a loss like Billy Wagner. Even more so when he plays a hand in it.

The closer stood at his locker in the morbid silence of the visiting clubhouse, with a look of death in his eyes. He grunted -- a sign for reporters to approach.

Only minutes before, Wagner (0-1) had surrendered a crushing three-run homer in the eighth inning to pinch-hitter Tony Clark. It was the final stake into the Mets yesterday, dealing them an 8-6 loss and capping a four-game sweep. It authors the postscript to a disappointing 2-5 road trip through California, which leaves the Mets reeling as the Phillies take off with the division. And the time to worry is now.

"Definitely. We need to start winning baseball games," Wagner said. "It's one of those things where we've had our chances to win each game and let them get by. We have to really stay focused and continue to go out there and play."

Leads are normally secure in Wagner's hands. Staked to a 6-4 lead, the Mets summoned their closer to pick up a four-out save. A poorly located slider produced a single from Jody Gerut, which cut the margin in half. It then evaporated with the next hitter after a 3-2 fastball to Clark caught too much of the plate.

The Mets, in fourth place with a 30-32 record, fell 7½ games behind the surging Phillies in the National League East. The rhetoric out of the visitor's side of Petco Park suggested it's not time to worry; there are still 100 games left in the season.

"This team never gives up. They've got to know that no one's going to feel sorry for us," manager Willie Randolph said. "And we can't feel sorry for ourselves. The morale will be fine. We'll be fine. These guys have been around long enough to know this is part of the game. It's a tough part of the game, but we have to fight through it."

One thing Randolph did admit was the shocking nature of the loss. He told reporters he was at a "loss for words" when they entered his office. It's plain to see why, considering the team had not only allowed a pair of leads to dissolve, but did so with two of their better pitchers in Pedro Martinez and Wagner.

Making his second start since he rejoined the club, Martinez lacked the sharpness he exhibited in his return against the Giants. The control of his changeup deviated from precise to scattershot. His slider was nonexistent. The Padres feasted on the 89-90 mph fastballs he served up. Martinez, though, felt this was a positive step. As for the team, the bubbly Martinez has not a worry in the world.

"I think we're going to be okay," said Martinez, who allowed four runs on 10 hits in 5 innings. "This is a game that just got away from us."

Yes, the Mets were snakebitten for much of the time during their four-game series here, the first for the Mets since September 1980. How else do you explain a team scoring three runs through three games, losing each by a 2-1 margin? Included in the bundle was a walk-off homer on Saturday, a walk-off bean ball on Thursday and a loss attached to ace Johan Santana on Friday.

When the offense finally rejuvenated, the Padres were equal to the task. The Mets scored three runs in the first inning, only to see the Padres tie the game minutes later. It had Randolph racking his brain afterwards, left to analyze a team with such a schizophrenic personality.

Same with David Wright, who like his teammates isn't ready to break the glass and mash the panic button.

"Things like that are going to happen," Wright said. "I just think our overall play has been poor. Forget about the way this game ended. Billy's been lights out the entire year."

As the Mets knotted their ties and packed their suitcases, a long flight back home was the only thing that awaited them. There's the benefit of an off day to recoup and shift through the damage before they play host to the NL West-leading Diamondbacks at Shea. Daunting as it looks, the Mets are surprisingly optimistic.

"You keep playing, man. Got a long way to go," Randolph said. "You don't get to a point where it's a certain amount of games and you start to either panic or say something that's going to kick-start you or whatever. We've got to play better baseball. It starts (tomorrow.)"